With the massive amount of sports programing out there, some quality shows fly under the radar. “Morning Drive” — which airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on the Golf Channel — is one of those little shows worth watching. Hosted by Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams, the show not only talks about golf but explores all areas of sports, entertainment and even politics.
Co-host Gary Williams discussed the show’s evolution and how it has been received by some of the best golfers in the world.
What makes “Morning Drive” different?
Williams » “We know that golf fans are sports fans. They follow business like CNBC and politics like ‘Morning Joe.’ So while we are at our core a show about golf, we know that taking a few minutes to talk about Tim Tebow or what is going on in the stock market or ‘American Idol’ and politics does not bother our viewers at all. Our fans love golf, but they are smart, and when we are talking about the story of the day for a short while, they know we will be talking golf again within a couple of minutes.”
How has the show been accepted by the pros?
Williams » “We could not have asked for a better response than we have gotten from the entire PGA community. PGA golfers know our network and watch all of our programming, and so that has made it much easier for us to get big name guests on our shows and has helped make the network a real destination for golf fans. We have had all the top-30 golfers in the world on the show as guests, and Tiger Woods has been in studio and on set four times alone, so that is very satisfying.”
What has it been like to have the backing of the NBC Sports Group?
Williams » “In a word: amazing. When you look at the logo and it says the Golf Channel on NBC, that really says it all. We have had Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller on the show, as well as the entire NBC golf broadcast team. They are constantly promoting ‘Morning Drive’ on the network’s telecasts, and that drives new viewers to the Golf Channel, so the relationship could not be better. You have ‘Golf Central’ as the network’s news program and ‘Morning Drive’ as a more topic-driven show to go with the live events, so that is total coverage from sunup to sundown on one channel.”
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!, on washingtonexaminer.com.
